Asgard, the vast outdoor training grounds.
This was where Asgard's elite warriors sweated. The hard earth was scattered with ravines and craters carved by countless weapons.
At the center of the field, a towering figure trained daily.
It was Asgard's great prince—Thor.
"Take this!"
Thor roared. In his hand, Mjolnir became a silver bolt of lightning, smashing into a distant mountain of special-alloy targets with a thunderous boom.
Bang—
With a deafening crash, the target mound shattered open with a massive hole, and countless electric serpents writhed wildly across it.
Thor raised his hand, and Mjolnir hummed, drawing a beautiful arc through the air before flying back firmly into his grasp.
"Still not enough…" Thor stared at the distant target mound and frowned slightly.
He had reached a bottleneck. It seemed difficult to break through qualitatively with only brute physical strikes and raw thunder power.
He needed more power—more extreme destructive force.
Just as he was thinking, without warning, a wondrous sensation struck his heart.
A sudden palpitation.
It was as if somewhere in the cosmos, an item tied to his blood and destiny had been born.
He felt it overflowing with unrivaled power—violent, sharp, alive.
It was calling him, yearning to fight alongside him.
Then, a dignified voice tinged with laughter sounded directly within his mind.
"Thor. Come to the Hall of the God-King."
It was Odin's message.
Thor didn't dare ignore it. He quickly donned his armor, took up his hammer, and flew toward the Hall of the God-King.
"Father, you called for me?" Thor asked casually as he entered.
"Hm." Odin nodded, looking at Thor with a smile. "On the training grounds just now… did you feel anything special?"
Thor froze for a moment, recalling that inexplicable pounding in his chest. He scratched his head and said uneasily.
"I think… I did. It felt like something was calling me. It felt… stronger than Mjolnir."
"Right on target." Odin laughed with satisfaction.
Thor grew even more confused and stared at his father, question marks practically popping over his head. "Father, what happened?"
Odin didn't answer directly. He asked instead, "You know Lucci went to Nidavellir, yes?"
"I know." Thor nodded. "Big Brother Lucci said he went to learn forging. I wanted to go too, but he said I'd be too noisy and wouldn't let me."
Odin's smile widened.
"Lucci didn't go just to learn forging," he said grandly. "He helped forge a new weapon in Nidavellir."
"A new weapon?" Thor's eyes lit up instantly—then he looked baffled. "For me?"
Why? I already have Mjolnir.
Besides… could a weapon he forged really be stronger than Mjolnir?
In Thor's mind, Lucci was powerful, but in forging he should still be a newcomer.
Seeing his son's expression, Odin realized Thor wouldn't understand without being hit by the full weight of the news.
So Odin cleared his throat and, in an epic tone, relayed everything Heimdall had reported.
How Lucci guided the dwarf king to upgrade Uru forging, revise the blueprints, and ultimately forge the new "Stormbreaker" that could split space, self-repair, and summon the Bifrost…
Thor listened at first with mild indifference, but the more he heard, the wider his eyes grew, his mouth hanging open further and further.
When he heard that Lucci himself didn't like the axe—called it merely "passable," and casually decided to give it away…
Thor completely froze.
His mind went blank, filled only with countless unspoken expletives racing through his heart.
Split space? Summon the Bifrost?
Big Brother Lucci just casually came up with something that defied the heavens?
And he still didn't like it?
After the shock, an indescribable ecstasy and excitement erupted from the depths of Thor's heart like a volcano.
He could already imagine himself wielding a divine axe to crush enemies!
What frost giants, what trolls—he'd split them in half with one swing!
"Father! That… that 'Stormbreaker'… where is it now?"
Thor's voice trembled with excitement. He couldn't wait to see it—couldn't wait to embrace his own King of Artifacts!
"It should arrive soon," Odin said, amused by his son bouncing around like a three-hundred-pound child.
Thor was so excited he paced back and forth on the spot.
In his heart, his reverence for Lucci rose to yet another peak.
Before, he thought Lucci was a powerful and respected older brother.
Now, he felt Lucci was simply godlike—like a second set of parents reborn.
This big brother hid it too well!
He was worried about his bottleneck, and big brother casually handed him a "King of Artifacts" as a backup!
"Big Brother Lucci! From now on, you're my real brother!"
Thor roared excitedly in his heart.
"Whoever dares disrespect you—me, Thor, will be the first to chop them apart with the Stormbreaker!"
…
PS: Read advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode